Rockets Fly, Israel Targets Terrorists

JERUSALEM, Israel -- For nearly 11 days, Israelis breathed a collective sigh of relief as Egyptian mediators managed to bring a tenuous halt to Hamas rocket fire and retaliatory Israeli strikes on the terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

It's not clear whether Israel's lack of response to an 8-rocket salvo last Thursday allowed the ceasefire talks to continue over the weekend. There was some talk of progress, at least in the short term. Despite Hamas blaming Israel for the lack of progress, the weekend respite brought a glimmer of hope to those who would like to see quiet restored.

But that ended early Tuesday morning when Hamas fired three missiles at Beersheva and Israel responded by resuming targeted airstrikes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately recalled the Israeli delegation from Cairo, saying Israel would not negotiate under fire.

So much for the ceasefire as 11 days of relative quiet ended.

By mid-morning Tuesday, the fracas was in full swing again, with multi-rocket salvos setting off air raid sirens in Beersheva, Ashdod, Ashkelon and all points in between, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Hamas fired a record-setting 168 rockets at Israel Wednesday with no relief in sight on Thursday, yet with relatively few injuries and property damage.

Meanwhile Hamas owned up for the first time to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in June.

Salah al-Aruri, a senior member of the terror group, called the murders "a heroic act."

At a conference in Turkey, Aruri told a group of imams (Muslim clerics) Hamas had expanded its struggle to all "occupied" areas, meaning Judea and Samaria, saying "…the highlight was the heroic act that was executed by the al-Qassam Brigades [the group's "military wing"] -- the abduction of three settlers in Hevron."

The teens were abducted and murdered on their way home from school. Israel mounted a three-week search, called "Operation Brother's Keeper," before finding their bodies in a shallow grave near Hebron. During the search, the IDF arrested scores of wanted Hamas members.

Earlier this week, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced the results of a sting operation to uncover Hamas terror cells in Judea and Samaria, publicizing the names and histories of another 94 members of the group.

On Wednesday and overnight Thursday, at least two senior Hamas commanders were killed by Israeli airstrikes.

As the rocket barrages continue full force, Netanyahu says Operation Protective Edge will continue until prolonged quiet is restored and the IDF deals a "significant blow to the terrorist infrastructure."